


The ghost of Castle Hetrodyne

by Tinnis



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fairytail, Gen, ghost story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 02:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16965864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinnis/pseuds/Tinnis
Summary: A strange ghost story is being told inside of Castle Heterodyne by its prisoners. But inside of the Hetrodynes seat of power nothing is as it seems and ghost are made of flesh and blood.





	The ghost of Castle Hetrodyne

**Author's Note:**

> This is the introduction to my new GG AU, and it’s the first fan fic I post on AO3 and the first I’ve written in like years so I hope you like it. I love this AU and have a few other bits written and quite a lot planned so more will come in the future. If you want some further details of the setting of this AU you can check out the notes at the end.

There is a story that the prisoners of Castle Heterodyne tell each other. It’s a strange story even for the kind of people that make up the prisoners. Of course most stories surrounding Castle Heterodyne are odd, but this one stands out even among them. The story is about a young girl, or something that looks like one, and it goes something like this.

“Always be careful here in Castle Heterodyne, especially if you are alone in a strange part of the castle”, an older prisoner will tell a newer one. This will sound like most of the other advice the newer one has already gotten and by now quite obvious.

“Of course I’ll be careful”, they will say. “This place is a death trap. If I weren’t careful I’d already be dead.” The older prisoner will sigh and shake their head. The newbie is right in a way, rash or stupid people die quickly and this story isn’t told until you’ve been here for a while, but they still don’t truly understand the hell that is Castle Heterodyne.

“I know, but it always gets worse around here. What I’m telling you about now is different from all those things you have already heard. The newbie will freeze up, because honestly how could it possibly get worse.

Here the reaction the newbie has will depend on their personality. Maybe they will scoff, sure that the older prisoner is simply playing terrify the new kid, maybe they will freeze in terror or maybe the overwhelming helplessness of this place will leave take it’s form as a strange kind of apathy that leaves one unable to care much about anything.

“It started out as a ghost story during the time when prisoners still slept outside of the castle. People started whispering about a girl who had been seen inside. Everyone knew someone, who knew someone’s that had glimpsed this girl. This someone was usually dead though, so a ghost story it stayed.

“I was told that a thousand different rumors were flying through the town after a while and some were really hilarious.” For a second the older prisoner light up remembering old laughter, but it quickly dies back. “Most people did not believe the stories though, but then the prisoners were sent inside permanently and suddenly more and more people insisted that they had seen her.

“But surely there cannot be a child inside here”, the newer prisoner exclaims.

“I’m not done yet”, the older will interrupt. “Some people started to say that she was the ghost of a child who’d died here and was now doomed to haunt these halls forever. Others claimed that she was the Castle given fleas and meant to terrify us in new and exciting ways. There are still a lot of different stories going around, but those two are the ones most believe in.

“Ghosts don’t exist and the castle given flesh? Surely that must be impossible.” The newbie will start to sound shaken. Goosebumps will have risen across their entire body and thoughts will circle around inside of them. Before they came here they would have laughed as such a tall tale. Now though, they are not quite so sure. This place seems to enjoy taking things thought of as impossible, make them appear in the most unsettling way possible and then throw them at the one who suggested it to be impossible.

“Impossible, well so is this entire place”, the older prisoner will say and start laughing in a vaguely insane manner. “If you don’t stop thinking like that you’ll be dead sooner rather than later kid.”

“This ghost girl or whatever she is is real believe me. I used to be like you, thinking things like that impossible but then... I will never forget that day. I was stuck in the room of rusty knives and I was sure that was it. I was a dead man walking. Well somehow I managed to repair something and the door opened. I rushed forward it forgetting all about being careful and slipped on something.” The man starts to touch a big scar that runs from the right side of his forehead down to his lead cheek, bisecting his face in half and barley missing an eye. “Next thing I knew I was on the floor bleeding and a high girly laugh rang out through the room. I never did see her but hearing her was enough to give me nightmare for months.”

“But surely... she can’t be a ghost. Maybe she is a child that got lost here?”

“And lived long enough for rumors to start flying?” The storyteller shakes his head. “Well some people think she is a ghost but not me. No way something that could make that kind of sound was a ghost. That was... to alive. I think she is just another thing made by the old Hetrodyne, something to guard this place or some last line of defense. Maybe it woke now that the Castle can’t fully protect itself anymore.”

“Can’t protect itself? This place is goddamn lethal. How can you even think that it can’t protect itself.” The old man laughs again and it’s just as unsettling as the last time he did it.

“If this place wasn’t broken do you truly think any of us would leave alive.” The old man drags a hand through his hair. “But that doesn’t matter. Some people still doesn’t believe in her but I you seem smart so I thought I should give you a fair warning.

“If you glimpse the ghost girl don’t try to get a proper look at her. If you just hear her don’t try to spot her. Anyone who sees her properly dies, soon. Whatever she is she don’t want us to know. And I don’t know what anyone told you before they dumped you here, but no matter how lucrative it might sound to be a spy don’t. The last person to spy for the outside was found spiked up to a wall, with his guts hanging out and still alive, if barley. A message had been painted on the wall besides him with his own blood. ‘Here stays the secrets of the Heterodynes’.”

—

In another part of the castle a small girl is resting inside a small space in the wall, her hands deeply intertwined in machinery. A vast echoing voice has just finished relaying to her the two men’s conversation.

“Do they really think I’m an abomination of science Castle”, the girl giggles.

“Indeed they do mistress and a most terrifying one too. The terror on the prisoners face as they talk about the ghost of Castle Heterodyne is most exquisite. You do give me the most delicious conversations to overhear young mistress.” The castle creaks faintly and the girl hears a big burst of air getting released as the Castle sighs in pleasure.

“I wonder how I would look like as a true abomination of science”, the young girl grins. “Would I have tentacles or maybe wings? No of course it would have to be both! And I would have jagged teeth and sharp claws that could tear flesh from bones.” She starts to clap her hands together not caring about the wires and the spare parts between them. “ I would have a tail to of course and maybe a few extra arms as well. Yes I can see it. It would be glorious and the world would finally get to se a true abomination.” Now the girl is screaming, declaring to the heavens of the wonders she will create.

“Mistress”, the castle interrupts sounding almost worried. It’s mistress is far beyond hearing though, lost in a world of cogs and gears that move in hypnotizing unison. Gears that can with just the right movement shift to creat something beyond beauty, wonder or even terror.

“Mistress”, it tries again. When the girl still does not notice it it sighs deeply.

“Agatha”, it tries instead and the girl’s head spins around to look up towards the roof.

“Uncle”, the young girl says softly.

“No, I’m afraid it is just me young mistress.”

“Ah, Castle. What did you want?” The spark that engulfed it’s mistress left as quickly as it came and left is just a sad, small girl. Somehow, somewhere, something twinges in a heart the Castle did not know it had. That sad and despondent look would not look good on any Hetrodyne, but it feels especially wrong on it’s current young mistress.

“I just wanted to advice against experimenting on yourself. If you want to make an abomination of science there are far more expendable subjects you could use in residence. Otherwise there is of course the matter you came here to investigate to occupy you and if that bores you mistress I am sure we could find something suitably fascination for you to look at.”

“Of course Castle”, the young girl says and smiles. “I do wonder...” She starts to look at the mangled machinery in her hands and then at the machinery around her. “I could use the parts to...” She starts to hum softly. “Yes of course. Such an elegant solution.” Then she looks around again this time with a laser sharp focus and soon she is happily Heterodyning. The Castle almost sighs in relief. This is a far better look on it’s mistress and it is good that she let the thoughts of experimenting on herself go. That is far to dangerous when she is the sole Hetrodyne.

The Castle then hums satisfactorily as it watches over its young mistress as she passionately starts to tear into the machinery. It continues to watch as she then starts putting different wire and cogs in new places. For a little over five years it thought that it had failed its task and that the Hetrodyne family was lost. Now though a Hetrodyne is home inside it again and everything is right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is in an AU where Agatha broke through a little earlier and a lot quicker so Barry did not have time to stop it. Instead he had to find someplace safe where he could leave her while going of doing whatever he was doing in canon. So the only place he could think of that could keep a spark reasonably safe was Castle Hetrodyne. So he returned to Mechanicsburg in secret, fixed the Castle up quite a bit and then left Agatha there all the while intending to return.


End file.
